The tree of dreams The field elm (Ulmus minor) is a tree that can reach more than 30 meters in height, with a beautiful dome-shaped crown. A serious disease called graphiosis, which arrived in Europe from Asia around 1920 and spread by some beetles, has almost totally destroyed the adult plants throughout Europe. It lives in woods and hedges on fresh or periodically submerged soils. One of the characteristics of elms is to possess leaves with an asymmetrical base. The flowers appear in March-April, before the leaves, and are made up of small bundles of red stamens. The fruits consist [...]

The Painted lady A great migrant The Painted lady (Vanessa cardui) is a splendid butterfly that belongs to the Nymphalidae family. With a lively livery, it has a wingspan of about 54-60 mm, with bright and variegated colors on the front face of the wings. It's found all over the world and it's a long-range migratory butterfly . In Europe these butterflies come from North Africa in thousands, in April and May, but adults can't make it through the rigors of winter. The Painted lady feeds on the nectar of many species of flowers and is widespread in different types [...]

Black alder The wood of Venice The black alder (Alnus glutinosa) is a tree that can reach a height of 20-25 meters. It loves to live in damp places, it is found along rivers and streams and in swampy woods. Its roots host bacteria capable of fixing atmospheric nitrogen which is thus transmitted to the soil. In this way the black alder performs a real reclamation and also serves to consolidate landslide banks and slopes subject to landslides. Bloom takes place in spring, in the form of male inflorescences, long and pendulous, and female inflorescences, small in tufts. Pollination takes [...]

Episyrphus balteatus ❄️🌳🌸 A little air acrobat It's a little Diptera from the Syrphid family. It is completely harmless and has the shape of a fly but, like most of the Syrphids, it imitates the much more dangerous wasps as a defense strategy. In fact, the abdomen is orange with narrow black bands. Episyrphus adults feed on nectar and pollen grains which they crush with their front legs. Thus they promote the pollination of many plants The larvae, on the other hand, are predators of aphids and caterpillars: they devour up to 200 of them during development! Sometimes the adults [...]